China up close

Shinzo Abe, Japan's assassinated former prime minister, left, and Chinese President leader Xi Jinping entered office a month apart in 2012. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Getty Images/Ken Kobayashi)
China up close

Analysis: Dramatic final curtain on special Abe-Xi relationship

Chinese leader pays unusual respect to his arch rival of 10 years

14 July 2022
Ｗho does Chinese President Xi Jinping trust the most? A pattern is emerging. (Nikkei montage/Kyodo/Reuters)
China up close

Analysis: Xi dispatches Fujian aides to polish up 'guns and swords'

Leader turns to decades-long subordinates but Zhejiang faction misses out on promotion

7 July 2022
President Xi Jinping is thought to have had the final say on the third aircraft carrier's name. (Nikkei montage/Kyodo/Reuters)
China up close

Analysis: New carrier's name, Fujian, mirrors Xi's Taiwan obsession

Leader spent 17 years in province of same name closely watching the island

30 June 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin must be concerned that Chinese President Xi Jinping has demoted pro-Russia diplomat Le Yucheng. (Nikkei montage/AP/Reuters/Kyodo/Getty Images)
China up close

Analysis: Russia hand's demotion signals shift in Xi's strategy

Le Yucheng was top candidate to be China's next foreign minister

23 June 2022
Xi Jinping's answer to Japan's Fumio Kishida hosting a Quad summit was not as aggressive as Vladimir Putin would have liked. (Nikkei monatage/Getty Images/Hirofumi Yamamoto)
China up close

Analysis: China feels slight unease in intimidating Japan with Russia

Struggles in Ukraine make Beijing think twice about following Moscow's playbook

16 June 2022
A battle is raging within the Chinese Communist Party over whether to lift Xi Jinping to Mao-like status. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
China up close

Analysis: Xi shushes party elders as he marches toward 3rd term

New expression 'Eternal leader' emerges ahead of Beidaihe summer conclave

9 June 2022
Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi in 1966, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang in 2021. (Source photo by AP and Getty Images)
China up close

Analysis: Premier Li's economic rebuild has a dangerous precedent

The last time a No. 2 corrected the top leader's policy, it didn't end well

2 June 2022
Wang Qishan is back as "Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative," working to put China-U.S. relations back on track. His recent mission puts to rest speculation that he is on the outs with Xi. (Nikkei montage/Getty Images/AP/Xinhua/Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: Xi envoy Wang Qishan visits Seoul with message for U.S.

Quiet negotiations are underway to secure a summit with Biden

26 May 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, has sidelined Premier Li Keqiang for most of the past nine years, taking over economic policy. (Nikkei montage/Xinhua/Kyodo/AP)
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Analysis: Premier Li is back, and so is 'Likonomics'

President Xi's economic miscues pave way to sharing of power

19 May 2022
No one could possibly object to Xi Jinping's proposal for a "common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable" global security apparatus, vague as it is. (Nikkei montage/AP/Reuters/Xinhua/Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: Xi floats 'global security initiative' with eye on Pacific

With Belt and Road infrastructure plan stalled over Ukraine, president looks east

28 April 2022
As this purported image of the Moskva goes viral on Telegram, Chinese President Xi Jinping might be fretting over the source of his navy's aircraft carrier technologies. (Nikkei montage/Kyodo/AP)
China up close

Analysis: Xi's confidence in aircraft carriers shaken after Moskva sinking

China's treasured Liaoning was made in Soviet-era Ukraine like the Russian flagship

21 April 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping has not protected his long-time aide Li Qiang, who serves as Shanghai's top official. (Nikkei montage/Getty Images/Xinhua/Kyodo)
14 April 2022
(Nikkei montage/Getty Images)
China up close

Analysis: Xi risks stumbling with Putin if he plays his cards wrong

If Russia fails in Ukraine, questions would arise over long-term authoritarian leadership

7 April 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping is keeping an eye on how his close ally handles the lockdown in Shanghai and its effects on the economy. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/AP)
China up close

Analysis: Shanghai lockdown affects Xi's plans to promote allies

City chief Li Qiang's move to Beijing likely on hold till economic impact weighed

31 March 2022
Scholars have urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to abandon Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Xi has yet to do so. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)
China up close

Analysis: Xi's pro-Russia stance rooted in fear of Gorbachev model

But if China's economy suffers from bond with Moscow, a power struggle awaits

24 March 2022
Xi Jinping is running out of time to make a decision that would abandon Vladimir Putin and put him on better terms with Joe Biden. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Getty Images)
China up close

Analysis: China needs to drop Putin now, scholar insists

Government adviser says Beijing needs to be on the right side of history

17 March 2022
More Likonomics than Xiconomics? (Source photo by Reuters and AP)
China up close

Analysis: Less Xi, more Li in China policy speech

President's signature policies take back seat as economy sputters

10 March 2022
The Ukraine crisis could bring back elements of "collective leadership" to China, unraveling Xi Jinping's one-man rule. (Nikkei montage of Xinhua, Kyodo, AP, Reuters photos)
3 March 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, has been cracking down on corruption as he pushes to cement his grip on power. Authorities have arrested Zhou Jiangyong, right, the former top official in the city of Hangzhou, while Chinese state media have implicated Ant Group, controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, left, in the scandal. (Nikkei montage/AP/Reuters/Ken Kobayashi)
China up close

Analysis: Who's too cozy with the private sector? Xi Jinping decides

China's first arrest for 'disorderly expansion of capital' sends shock waves

17 February 2022
Vladimir Putin may have to settle for a little brother role to Xi Jinping due to the difference in national power. (Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images)
China up close

Analysis: Russia deal gives Xi safety net for potential Taiwan action

Natural gas pipeline enables China to survive Western energy blockade

10 February 2022
A Xi-Putin handshake at the Beijing Winter Olympics would serve as a reminder of the link between the Taiwan and Ukraine issues. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/AP)
China up close

Analysis: Ukraine creates danger for Taiwan, Olympic truce or no

As the U.S. focuses on Europe, China sees a host of options for fait accompli

3 February 2022
Whether Chinese President Xi Jinping can secure a longer term than the next five years depends on upcoming political battles, and the anti-corruption campaign will be his tool. (Nikkei montage/Xinhua/Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: If Xi secures just 5 more years, he loses

The leader can only maintain grip if subordinates feel he'll stay

27 January 2022
One could say that Xi Jinping himself is a risk to the Chinese economy. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Getty Images)
China up close

Analysis: From leader to students, overconfidence clouds China

Reckless policies hurt economy and delay Xi Jinping's goal to overtake U.S.

20 January 2022
One of Xi Jinping's most trusted, favorite retainers, Cui Tiankai, has made remarks that show a new atmosphere in China, one that tolerates moderate political and economic debate. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/AP)
China up close

Analysis: China's ex-Washington envoy resurfaces with an important message

Cui Tiankai says war of anger does not help the national cause

13 January 2022
Streamlining bloated government-related organizations and easing regulations would not fit Chinese President Xi Jinping's policy of making state-owned companies bigger. (Source photos by AP and Reuters)  
China up close

Analysis: China's mandarins face 25% pay cut as 'alchemy' fades

Local governments can no longer sell land rights for easy cash

30 December 2021